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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Kissena Riders from the 70s and 80s - Larry DeSario

Video Clip of Larry doing a Flying 200 in 1983 at Kissena Track - notice there was no fence around the track.

Below is a report from Larry:

I've been rummaging through my old training diaries. Wow, things have sure changed in regards to gearing. We used smaller gears back then.

Kilometers:
For kilos, I generally used 46x14 or 47x14.

I won the state kilo title in 1973 with a 1.14.2 (46x14)

I also won the state kilo on June 23rd 1984 with a 1.14.91 (46x14). Below are the splits for this kilo:
-200 meter 16.74
-400 meter 29.96
-600 meter 43.77
-800 meter 59.46
-1000 meter 1.14.91.

Later in the year (September 84) I did a record attempt and rode a 1.13.93 (46x14). Below are the splits for this effort:
-200 meter 17.31
-400 meter 30.92
-600 meter 44.36
-800 meter 59.51
-1000 meter 1.13.93
I paced this attempt and was able to finish stronger. I didn't get the record which at the time was 1.12.4 held by Steve Woznick set in 1973. I have some pics of the 1984 states that I'll get together.

I saw that the time was lowered to 1.11 by Colin Prensky in 2011! You have to be a beast to do that on Kissena. He certainly has my utmost respect.

Colin Prensky

Flying 200 Meters:
We didn't have 200 tt seeding for match sprints back then. I managed to win the state sprints, 1982 to1984. However, we did have time trial nights and usually my gearing for the 200's were 47x14, 48x14 and 44x13.
My best times were:
11.65 (Aug 8th 1983/gear 44x13)
11.75 (Aug 19th 1984/gear 48x14).

I do happen to have the 11.65 on tape. My wife was giving commentary during the effort. (Video clip above)

Flying 400 Meters:
My best flying lap was 25.4 seconds on a 50x15 gear in 1982. I was doing them with Derrick Davis that night. I must say that most of my better efforts were late June to September. Usually April and May the times were quite slower.

Racing Videos and Photos:
I have some racing footage that I will share. Some twilight series action with Al Toefield announcing and nice size fields. Also, some workouts with James Joseph. He spanked me good, he was quite strong. Unfortunately, I have no footage of the Labor Day meets. I have plenty of pics though. I rode (won) the 1983 meet riding with a cracked shoulder suffered in a madison some three weeks earlier. I didn't tell the docter I was riding.

I hope you find this of some help. It's always good to compare notes.

Currently:
I turned 57 this year. I still ride down here in South Florida but with not as much zeal as I used to. Got hurt (my back) after the last masters worlds I rode in 1999 and I lost quite a bit of power in my left leg. I'm hoping I can get back to nationals/worlds level fitness someday. I rode the 200 tt at our elite and masters states this year and did a 12.1 and 12.2. I'm struggling to bring it down to under 12 seconds once again.

James Joseph

James Joseph just won the 2011 nationals yesterday in T-Town. He is still very talented and snappy fast. Derrick Davis visited us a few times these past few years and I ride with Pat Gellineau when he comes down for the winter.

Derrick Davis

I'll gather some old momentos and send them up. Looking at the pictures and results from your site, the sprinters are really big. Kissena's Affinity Team has recently turned out some gifted sprinters. The legacy is still alive at Kissena!

My last competitive kilo was May 29th 1999 fl states at Piccolo, time 1.14.2 at age 45. The gear was 47x14, splits were 15.5/26.25/37.44/49.12/1.01.49/1.14.28. It was more or less for training as my emphasis was the sprints and team sprints.

I did win the Florida States in 1993 (May 15th) with a 1.12.47, gear 45x14 (86.8 inches). Splits 15.30/26.07/37.12/48.66/1.00.37/1.12.47

At the Masters Nationals 1994 (July 15) held at Piccolo I rode 1.11.23, gear 43x13 (89.3 inches). I got third. Kent Bostick won with a 1.09, and my good buddy, Richard Martin, got second with a 1.10 something. My kilo splits were 15.21/25.78/36.36/47.54/59.21/1.11.23

My philosophy for the kilo was rather than try to match the big boys on their gears, I tried to match them on RPM's. I didn't have the strength to push the big gears, I tried to finesse the ride. Many riders look at the internationals and get swayed into using gears that are way too big. Heck, if you match their RPM's with even a 46x14 you can have a pretty good ride for a district championship. Again, I was no kilo rider but I did manage to garner four bronze medals at masters nationals. I never rode tri-bars, only bullhorns. I was old school and I feel my inability to really master aero bars pretty much doomed me in the event - you know, adapt or go extinct.

After the UCI determined that ages 40 and over time trial will be 500 meters, later changed to 750 meters, I said adios to the Kilo event. I hated the Kilo! It really wasn't my cup of tea.

I preferred the 500 meter. Then, I geared up to 48x14, sometimes 47x14 or 51x15. I got silver and bronze at Masters Worlds, both rides were mid 35 seconds.